The CAO Handbook 2027 flags 29 courses as new, down from 46 in the 2026 edition. Below is the full list, taken directly from the handbook published by the Central Applications Office (CAO), with CAO code, NFQ level and campus.
A note on what "new" means here: the NEW marker is CAO's own, and it identifies courses appearing in the handbook for the first time. It is not a guarantee that a course is running — CAO publishes updates on new and cancelled courses on the Important Changes table at cao.ie under CAO Handbook. Check there and on the college's own site before you commit a preference to it.
The pattern
Three themes account for most of the list.
Teacher education. Mary Immaculate College has six new Education degree combinations at its Thurles campus, and DCU has added a post-primary teacher education route in Construction Technology and Technology.
Computing and AI. Maynooth, DkIT and ATU Letterkenny have all added computing degrees, with artificial intelligence named in the title of three of them.
Health and sustainability. SETU has added two health courses at Waterford, TUS has added Environment and Sustainability at Thurles at both Level 7 and Level 8, and Mary Immaculate has added Climate, Society and Sustainability.
The single biggest individual addition is GY506 Medicine (Graduate Entry) at University of Galway.
The full list: Level 8
| Code | Course | Institution | Campus / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU364 | Computer Games Development | Atlantic Technological University | Letterkenny |
| AU365 | Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics | Atlantic Technological University | Letterkenny |
| AU665 | Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology | Atlantic Technological University | Galway |
| DC019 | Post Primary Teacher Education – Construction Technology and Technology | Dublin City University | — |
| DK827 | Computing in Artificial Intelligence Engineering | Dundalk Institute of Technology | — |
| DK860 | Music and Maths | Dundalk Institute of Technology | — |
| DL861 | Film: Pathfinder Joint International Programme (Slovakia) | IADT Dún Laoghaire | Portfolio, interview, restricted |
| GY263 | BBS Global Luxury & Experience Management | University of Galway | Shannon College, interview |
| GY506 | Medicine (Graduate Entry) | University of Galway | GAMSAT required, additional test |
| MH102 | Arts with Education Studies | Maynooth University | — |
| MH604 | Computer Science (options in Computer Science and Software Engineering, or Computer Science and Interactive Digital Media) | Maynooth University | Option chosen at end of first year |
| MH605 | Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence | Maynooth University | — |
| MI011 | Climate, Society and Sustainability | Mary Immaculate College | Limerick |
| MI023 | Education, Home Economics and Gaeilge | Mary Immaculate College | Thurles |
| MI024 | Education, Home Economics and Mathematics | Mary Immaculate College | Thurles |
| MI025 | Education, Home Economics and Accounting | Mary Immaculate College | Thurles |
| MI026 | Education, Mathematics and Religious Studies | Mary Immaculate College | Thurles |
| MI027 | Education, Mathematics and Accounting | Mary Immaculate College | Thurles |
| MI028 | Education, Gaeilge and Accounting | Mary Immaculate College | Thurles |
| SE619 | Software Development and Sports Science | South East Technological University | Waterford |
| SE950 | Public Health and Health Promotion | South East Technological University | Waterford |
| SE951 | Applied Health Care | South East Technological University | Waterford |
| TU968 | Sustainable Tourism | Technological University Dublin | Grangegorman |
| US846 | Accounting and Finance | Technological University of the Shannon | Athlone |
| US871 | Environment and Sustainability | Technological University of the Shannon | Thurles |
The full list: Level 7
| Code | Course | Institution | Campus / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DK727 | Computing in Artificial Intelligence Engineering | Dundalk Institute of Technology | Progresses L7 to L8 |
| MT553 | Culinary Leadership and Management | Munster Technological University | Kerry, progresses L7 to L8 |
| US741 | Environment and Sustainability | Technological University of the Shannon | Thurles, progresses L7 to L8 |
| US768 | Aircraft Maintenance Engineering | Technological University of the Shannon | Shannon |
Four worth a second look
GY506 Medicine (Graduate Entry), University of Galway. Applicants are ranked on GAMSAT, and the 2027 handbook adds that graduate medicine applicants to Galway will also have to undertake an additional assessment or interview. Documents for graduate medicine applications must be posted to CAO, not uploaded. The GAMSAT sittings counted for 2027 entry are September 2025, March 2026, September 2026 and March 2027.
DL861 Film: Pathfinder Joint International Programme (Slovakia), IADT. This is a restricted course requiring a portfolio and an interview, which means you must have applied to CAO by 1 February 2027 at 5pm with the course on your list, or add it using the €10 amend facility before 1 March at 5pm.
US768 Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, TUS Shannon. A Level 7 with no listed progression route in the handbook, on a campus with obvious aviation industry adjacency.
The six Mary Immaculate Thurles combinations. Home Economics, Maths, Gaeilge, Accounting and Religious Studies in various pairings. If you want to teach two of those subjects, this is the largest single expansion of concurrent teacher education routes in the handbook.
Applying for a new course
Two practical points.
New courses have no points history. There are no prior-year points to look at, so ordering the course by where you think it will land is guesswork. The handbook's advice applies with more force here than anywhere: order your list by genuine preference.
Check whether it is restricted. Courses marked restricted in the handbook carry a hard 1 February deadline and usually an assessment, portfolio or interview in March or April. Adding one on Change of Mind in May is generally not possible. The deadlines that apply are set out on our CAO 2027 key dates page, and the wider rule changes in what changed in the CAO Handbook 2027.
You can look any of these codes up, alongside every other CAO course, in our course search.
Source: CAO Handbook 2027, published by the Central Applications Office. Course listings are subject to change — CAO publishes updates to new and cancelled courses on the Important Changes table at cao.ie.